


Set Them Free

by Smapdi



Category: The Mindy Project
Genre: Angst, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-12-12
Updated: 2014-12-12
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:57:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,139
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2758736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Smapdi/pseuds/Smapdi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Danny and Mindy talk before she leaves for Stanford.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Set Them Free

**Author's Note:**

> This is something that I wrote as a sort of catharsis after the Christmas episode. It's brief and doesn't really serve as much but a scene of a difficult moment.

She had meant to get home sooner, but the interns had thrown her an impromptu going away party, and she didn't want be rude, even though she knew Danny was waiting. His place is quiet when she comes in, so she drops her purse and shoes by the door and peeks into Danny's bedroom. 

The light is on, but he's snoring, propped up on pillows, with his reading glasses on and his book resting on his chest. Mindy quietly changes into a t-shirt, as all her cute pajamas are packed already, and slips in next to him. His book is easy to move, but she can't figure out how to take off his glasses without waking him, so she just tugs the blanket up and snuggles up to him. 

She's almost asleep when he stirs next to her. 

"Min?" He says sleepily, turning and reaching an arm towards her. His hand settles on her hip as he shifts to his side. 

"Go back to sleep, babe. We can talk in the morning."

"No." He blinks his eyes and smiles at her. "Talk now. How did your day go?"

Mindy had just gone in for a few hours to wrap up paperwork and say her goodbyes, but as usual, things didn't go as planned. 

"It was fine. The kids threw me a little party." She leans in to kiss him, and he comes back at her eagerly, turning her quick peck into something decidedly hotter, stroking her face and the back of her neck. 

"You taste like chocolate," he murmurs, pulling her closer. 

"There was cake..."

"You should have called me, I would have come join you."

Mindy shrugs. "It would have been over before you got there." It's a lie, but she couldn't have dealt with him there. She could barely get through the goodbyes without crying as it was, and those people don't really matter. 

Danny matters. 

He matters, and he's been so good, though she could see he was struggling. She assured him eight months would fly by, but they both knew it wouldn't. What did fly by were the weeks leading up to her departure. 

He's nuzzling her neck, and his hand is roaming under the sheets. She won't stop him, she never does, but she's a little worried she might burst into tears and she doesn't want to leave with that memory. 

"I'm gonna miss this." Danny's voice is scratchy and raw, and she can tell it's not just from sleep. 

"Oh, stop. We'll be calling and texting and Skyping all the time. You'll probably see me more than you do now!" It's forced, but maybe believable. 

"It's not the same." 

They haven't really talked about the realities, and Mindy hoped maybe they wouldn't have to. But it was becoming more real as the hours passed. She chose an afternoon flight, because it would give her a little more time, but now she thinks maybe she's only prolonging the agony. 

He's just holding her now. 

"I'm going to miss you here, Mindy. In my bed. Touching you, smelling you...tasting you. It's not the same." He shifts a little, pulling back to look at her. He's smiling, that wry little half smile, but his eyes are sad and hurt and she can't bear it. She grabs his face and kisses him, quick soft kisses all over, as if he were a child and she could kiss the pain away. 

"I won't go. I'll stay, Danny. I can just stay." 

"No, no, you will not. I want you to go." He's stroking her face, wiping the drops that are running down her cheeks. "I mean, I don't want you gone. But I want this for you. I'm so proud of you."

"I wish you could go with me." She's trying hard not to break. "I'll protect you."

"You'll protect me?" Danny laughs softly. 

"I will, I'll keep you safe, my love." She's giggling too now. 

He makes a noise and rolls onto his back, throwing an arm over his face. 

"You're killing me, Min." His voice is thick, strangled. He's quiet and Mindy stares at him, not knowing how to fix it, knowing she really can't. "You know that saying?" He continues. "If you love someone, set them free. If they come back..."

His voice trails off. Mindy seizes his arm, pulling it away. He won't look at her. 

"Danny," she breathes softly. When he still avoids her, she leans over him and grabs his shoulder, shaking it a little. "Danny, I'm coming back."

"I know." Danny's voice is low and he shrugs, turning his face away, rolling his eyes a little. 

"Dammit, I don't think you do." Mindy lays on him, resting her head on his chest. His arms wrap around her and he strokes her hair. "I'm leaving, Danny, but I'm not leaving _you._ That's a huge difference."

It's a moment before he speaks. "I just...I need to be sure the reason you're going is not because I failed you."

She sighs. "Danny, you didn't fail me. You can't...you won't. I believe in you. I just wish you could, too."

His arm tightens around her waist, and she picks up her head to look at him. 

"I know you want things from me that I haven't been ready for."

"That's not failure, Danny. It's just that maybe our timing is a little out of sync." Mindy kisses him, his lips, his damp eyes. 

"I need you to know before you leave, Min. I want those things too. I want to live with you. I want to marry you. I'm just...I'm a mess, Mindy. You know that."

"I do," she says with a smile. He smiles back. 

"We can use that in our wedding vows." Danny's grin widens. "Do you, Mindy Lahiri, take Daniel Castellano, to be your lawfully wedded mess?"

"I do!" She kisses him again. "Really, Danny, I do. I'm a mess too. Do you, Daniel Castellano, take Mindy Lahiri to be your lawfully wedded, hot mess?" 

"I totally do." 

She lays back down against him, soaking in the warmth of his body. It's quiet. Mindy hates to break the comfortable silence, but she has to. 

"I don't want you to be sad, Danny."

"I won't be sad," he assures her, sounding braver than she thinks he really feels. "I'll be happy because you're happy."

"Okay." She sits up and gazes at him. "You are going to wait for me, right? You're not going to run off with some skinny blonde with a flat ass?"

Danny grimaces. "Of course not."

"Of course you're not waiting, or of course not the blonde?" 

"No blonde. No way." His hand slides down to cup her ass. "Not giving up this for anything."

Mindy smiles and nestles back down. "Good. Just so that's clear."


End file.
